Flacco slices up Patriots, sends Ravens to the Super Bowl

Foxboro, MA -- Ray Lewis will get his shot to go out on top and John and Jim Harbaugh will square off in a Super Bowl only a mother couldn't love, as the Baltimore Ravens went into Gillette Stadium and knocked out the New England Patriots, 28-13, to capture the AFC title.

Joe Flacco, after being held in check in the first half, sliced up New England's secondary with threw touchdown passes after the break, as the Ravens scored 21 unanswered points to reach their first Super Bowl in 13 years.

Anquan Boldin caught two of Flacco's TD passes and Ray Rice ran for a score to deny New England a record-tying eighth Super Bowl appearance.

The winner-take-all game in New Orleans in two weeks will pit John Harbaugh's Ravens against his brother Jim's San Francisco 49ers, who captured the NFC earlier Sunday with a win over the Atlanta Falcons.

Tom Brady set the all-time NFL record for career postseason yards, but was off the mark most of the night, connecting on just 29-of-54 throws for 320 yards with two interceptions and a touchdown pass to Wes Welker, who had several key drops.

Steven Ridley lost a pivotal fumble in the fourth quarter after taking a big hit from Bernard Pollard and never returned.

New England, which averaged nearly 35 points per game in the regular season, punted five times -- three inside Baltimore territory -- and scored just one touchdown on four trips into the red zone.